Connecticut Chinese Dance group is a non-profit organization, run by volunteers and nonprofessional dancers. Our goal is to enhance communication between ethnic groups in the CT community and to promote respect and appreciation of our diverse cultures and the performing arts. Dance Teacher Alison Wang leads the group.
Performances include:
1. “Dao La” 倒喇 – Mongolia Dance
“Dao La” is a traditional Mongolian folk performances. It means “sing the songs”. Later on, “Dao La” was developed into a form of Mongolia musicals mixed with singing, instrumental performance, talk show and circus. Today’s dance is part of the story of “Princess Zhaojun” in BC era. Zhaojun is the princess of Han ethnic and she was traveling thousands of miles with her servants to marry the prince of Xiongnu who lived in Mongolia area. The purpose of the marriage was to pursue the peace in between the two countries. The dance “Dao La” demonstrates the scene of the wedding celebration. The beautiful costumes are specially designed for the dance. Now let us imagine, in the middle of the endless grassland, fires were lit up, wines were poured, drums beats were penetrating the night sky, a group of women were happily dancing to celebrate the wedding, full of hope, pray for the peace and gave all the blessings to the beautiful bride.
2. Soprano “Happiness Folk Song” – Performed by: Shanshan Zeng 曾珊珊
3. Butterfly Lyrics “蝴蝶吟 “
The next dance is a classic fan dance. It tells a group of girls found butterflies in the yard and they are running after them and having fun in a beautiful day. The foldable fans are very often used in Chinese dance. However, you shall not think they are always fans. In different scenarios, it could represent different things. When it is open, it could be wings of a bird, a large piece of leave to give you some shade, or a petal of a flower. When it is closed, it could be a leash, a whip or a branch. It very much depends on your own imagination.